Noticeable
by Pnkrockprncess8
Summary: Catherine notices things. Set during Grave Danger. Catherine's POV NickGreg


Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own CSI. It all belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer. I just use them.

Summary: Catherine's POV. Set during "Grave Danger" She notices.

Author's Note: I read "Pure Luck" by Steph on nickngreg and I got the idea for this story so you might notice a few similarities.

P.S: I tried to make this all in past tense, so I apologize ahead of time if some parts are in present tense.

"I'm Catherine Willows; I'm your son's supervisor. I promise you we are doing everything in our power to save Nicky." I introduced myself to Nick's parents who, I could tell, were still very much in shock with the news about their son.

Jillian Stokes nodded her head before clearing her throat. "I know you are. I know you'll bring my son back to us," She told me grimly. I could tell she was fearful that we would not find Nick.

I saw Warrick walking in my direction and signaled him to come over. I saw his wrinkle his brow in confusion but walked over anyway. "Judge Stokes, Mrs. Stokes, this is Warrick Brown. He is also working on Nick's case," I stated once Warrick was standing by my side.

Warrick extended his hand to Nick's father and they shook hands. "I'm sorry to be meeting in these circumstances," Warrick replied. I could tell he did not want to be there, but in the A/V lab where he could see Nick.

Judge Stokes must have been able to detect Warrick's distress because I saw his features soften. "Were you and Nick friends?" He had asked the question softly as if he didn't want to upset Warrick more.

Warrick nodded his head and he let out a sigh. "I should get back to work." I watched as Warrick went back to the A/V lab. His shoulders were slumped over and I noticed that his hands were shaking slightly. I could tell that this was affecting way more than he was letting on.

I knew what would inevitably come; they would ask to see the web cam. For some reason though, I knew that they weren't ready. I tried to put myself in their position and thought of Lindsay and I knew that it would be almost impossible to watch your child suffer like that. So I stalled.

I saw Greg walking down the hall and signaled him over, like I had done with Warrick. He saw Nick's parents and I noticed his hesitation. I paid no attention to it, figuring it had to do with stress and meeting new people.

"Hey Cath," He greeted me with a small, tight smile.

"Greg, this is Judge Stokes and Mrs. Stokes; Nick's parent's." I paused as I saw Greg become tense. I chose to ignore it for the moment; I would ask him about it later. "Judge Stokes, Mrs. Stokes, this is Greg Sanders."

Mrs. Stokes tensed for a second. Judge Stokes stared at Greg for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face. "I'm pleased to finally meet you, Greg," Nick's father greeted before holding his hand out to Greg. This seemed to help Greg relax and he shook Nick's father's hand.

Mrs. Stokes, however, didn't say anything for a few minutes. I saw the tears begin to form in her eyes. She cleared her throat before she began to speak. "Greg," She spoke so softly that it sounded like a whisper. "I'm glad to meet you." She then pulled Greg into a hug. I could tell that this stunned Greg. After a several seconds he put his hands on her back. "You'll bring him back, won't you?" She had asked him, the desperation was clear in her voice.

He then pulled away, his face was blank. He just shrugged his shoulders. "Catherine and Grissom are charge of the investigation and we're doing everything we can," He responded.

"But you'll…" Nick's father intervened and put his arm around his wife. "Leave the boy be," He had told her. "This is hard enough on him without the added pressure from us." He turned to Greg and gave a warm, soft smile. "I know you'll do everything you can, son. We know all of you will and we're very grateful."

Greg glanced up at the ceiling for a brief second before looking at Nick's parents again. "I have to get back to work," He said and turned on his heel and left.

After talking to Nick's parents more and having them ask me if Nick was still alive, I led them into the A/V lab to let them see the web cam.

Grissom was still sitting down behind a desk and Archie was still in front of the screen, as though they never moved. I doubt they did. Sara was now sitting beside Grissom and I noticed that they were sitting closer than they normally do. The closer I looked I noticed that Grissom's hand was on Sara's thigh. Warrick was standing in front of the monitor, watching Nick closely. The room was completely silent except for the occasional tapping of computer keys.

What finally broke that silence was a loud sob from Nick's mother. I was taken back from this sudden outburst but I had expected it. I noticed that Nick's father was now angry. His eyes held hatred and I saw his fists clench. Nick's mother watched for a few more minutes before turning and running out of the room. Nick's father continued to stare at the screen before he spoke. "Damn it, Poncho. What have you gotten yourself into?" He then left to comfort his wife.

Something inside of me snapped. I saw Nick inside that box and I tried to imagine life without him and I couldn't. I loved Nick like a brother and there was no way in hell I was going to sit there and watch him go through hell. I ran out of the lab and jumped into my car and drove as fast as I could to the one person I know could help me. Sam Braun.

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Walking into that casino felt weird…different. I used to be able to walk in here and feel confident that I could get what I wanted from Sam, whether it was a confession, evidence or just someone to talk to. Now, I didn't know what to expect. I hoped that I received the money and that Sam would help. But I wasn't sure. I don't know what scared me more: The possibility of a 'no' or of the thought that it was another trick from the kidnapper and that it would do no good.

After an hour of talking to Sam, he gave me the money. Ecstatic, I drove back to the lab then placed the money on Grissom's desk.

"What this?" He asked me while he took his glasses off.

"I got the money," I told him while he was opening the bag.

"Where?" Was all he asked as he pulled out the stacks of bills.

"Where do you think?" I replied back as I rolled my eyes. "Sam Braun?" He asked as he placed the money back into the bag. I nodded and heard him sigh.

"Catherine, what happens when the press gets hold of this? Or Ecklie for that matter?" Grissom questioned me with a slightly upset look on his face. "It will look like we are negotiating with terrorists. Sam Braun was a suspect for murder for more than one occasion."

I rolled my eyes at him and felt myself getting angry. "What the hell, Gil? This is Nick we are talking about! I don't give a fuck about the lab right now. All I care about is getting Nick back." I felt my heart racing inside my chest.

Grissom seemed to be thinking this over. "Ok, but I'm taking the money." I opened my mouth to say something but he stopped me. "I'm going alone." I wanted to protest but he was out the door before I could say anything.

Processing that warehouse was hell. I was never angrier than I was at that moment, but I didn't show it because Warrick was pissed and Greg was…well, depressed. I had to be the strong one.

When Warrick yelled at Greg I knew he hit his breaking point. Before he had kept it together, didn't let people see how hard this was for him. I followed him outside and watched as he sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. After a few moments of silence I start talking to him.

"Hey Warrick, how are you holding up?" I ask him, even though I already know the answer. None of us was handling this well.

Warrick sighed once again before he spoke. "I'm not," He said simply.

I nodded and gave him a gentle smile. "I know."

"I just can't help thinking that could have been me in that box, you know? We flipped a coin for that trash run," Warrick told me as his fists clenched and unclenched at his sides.

I placed a hand on his arm in a way to comfort him. "Hey, Nick is not inside a box because of the flip of a coin," I told him in a soft, gentle voice.

Warrick ran a shaky hand through his hair. "If that was me, I would have..." He pressed his two fingers against the side of his forehead as if it were a gun. It was obvious what he meant.

I shook my head, not believing that. My grip on his arm tightened slightly. "Hey, you know what? I know you. I don't believe that. Okay?" I told in a firm voice, not wanting to believe that Warrick would kill himself.

Warrick was then getting upset. "No. You're wrong. I wouldn't have lasted this far.

Catherine, if something happens to Nick, if we don't bring him back in one piece..." I could see the unshed tears in his eyes. Before he could finish speaking, Greg called out to us from inside the warehouse.

"Hey, guys, come here. I found something," I could tell from his voice that it was important. We both ran back into the warehouse, hoping that Greg found something that could help us.

"Look at this," Greg told us once he saw us enter the warehouse. He took the bent-out-of-shape jug that Warrick kicked earlier and poured some of the liquid on the ground. We watched as we saw the outline of something just under the dirt.

Greg turned to us and I could see the hope and excitement written all over his face. "There's something underneath there."

Together, we start brushing the dirt away from the lid.

"Oh, got an edge right here. All right," Warrick said as we continued to brush away more dirt.

Greg was brushing away faster. He stopped when he felt something. "Another over here."

I turned to Greg and told him to get some crowbars. I watched as he jumped up and ran to get the crowbars. Warrick and I continued to brush the dirt away from the lid. When Greg returned with the crowbars he handed one to Warrick.

"Do you think Nick could be under here?" Greg asked. I glanced at him briefly and I notice that this is the first time I saw any sort of emotion from him. He had been completely distant and emotionless the whole night.

Warrick shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, man. It would have to be at least six feet long." He told Greg as they lift the concrete lid up and off the patch of dirt.

"Yeah, but if he buried him lengthwise, and who's to say he didn't... he could be," I said. My heart is beating so hard in my chest. My hands are shaking slightly. We are so close to saving Nicky. Suddenly, there's a very real urgency and Warrick and Greg start to dig. I start digging with them. Once some of the other co-workers come over to help Greg and I moved out of the way.

Warrick and a couple of others dig out the area with shovels. Greg and I stand on the side just behind some lights and watch. Greg didn't say anything, he just watched as the people dug faster. His face was completely blank of all emotions. I reached over and grab his hand and squeeze it reassuringly. He looked over to me and, for the first time, I saw exactly what he is feeling. My heart shattered and I couldn't believe I didn't see how much this was affecting Greg.

Our attention turned back to the diggers when Warrick yells out that he hit something.

He used the tip of the shovel and tapped at it. There's a hollow thumping noise. Warrick put the shovel aside. He sat in the hole and started digging with his hands. I stand just outside the hole and watch while Greg jumped down and started to help dig out the hole.

I lean forward and see what it is. "It's Plexiglas." I reached into the hole and helped dig out the dirt.

Warrick and I both call out Nick's name as we began to dig frantically. "Nick! Hold on there, buddy!" Warrick called out as he brushed away the dirt that was covering the top layer of the box.

My heart stopped when I saw that dog. It was a fucking _dog_. I couldn't believe it. We were so close. I suddenly hear this small gasp. I turn around and see Greg standing completely still with unshed tears in his eyes.

"It's a fucking dog," I hear him say to himself. "We were so close to saving you, Nicky."

Warrick, Greg, and I work on the Plexiglas coffin, hoping that there is some clue as to where Nick is buried. A thought suddenly popped into my head. "This has got to be a prototype. It was probably built to test how long he could keep something alive inside," I stated as I look over the coffin.

Greg was lying under the coffin. He swabbed a circular pressure indention on the bottom of the coffin. Hodges leaned forward, peering at Greg and he pointed to the circles. "Now, what are those?"

Greg just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Why don't you run this swab and tell us what's on it? It might help us figure out what they are," Greg said as held out the swab for Hodges.

Hodges stood up and grabbed the swab before making his way back to his lab.

Warrick cleared his throat and I could hear Warrick setting his watch. "All right, based on this battery and what's running off of it, and the fact that we kept the damn light on for as long as we did, I figure Nick's got another ninety minutes left, now."

Greg and I remained quiet. Warrick set his watch to countdown from 1:30 hrs.

I walk into the locker room and I see Greg sitting on the bench with his legs pulled up to his chest with his head resting on his legs. "Hey Greg, are you ok?" It was the stupidest thing I could have asked, considering I already knew the answer.

Greg looked up at me, his eyes red and puffy and his hair a mess. He cleared his throat before answering me and I saw his eyes divert to the ceiling for a brief second. "No, I'm not ok. My best friend is fucking buried alive. How do you think I'm handling this?" His voice is bitter and I can see the anger in his eyes. Working at this job for over 10 years, you learn how to read people.

I sat down next to him and lay a hand on his shoulder and gave it gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry. That was a stupid question. Listen, this is hard on all of us. We all love Nick and we want him back. We're all so fucking…scared." I close my eyes and try not to imagine Nick dead.

Greg looked at me, tears shining in his eyes. He nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I know." Greg paused for a moment. "God, I don't want to lose him." He closed his eyes and laid his head back on his legs. Suddenly all of the night's events replayed over in my head. The way Greg had been acting had suddenly made sense to me. Why didn't I see this before?

I try to think of something to say and the only thing I can think of is, "How long?"

Greg's head snapped back up. His eyes went wide for a second before he relaxed. "3 years, well; 3 years in June." He didn't pretend not to understand the question.

My eyes had gone wide and I just sit there staring at him. "3 years? Why didn't you ever say anything?" I couldn't believe this was going on right under our noses and we didn't see it.

"We were scared of losing our jobs. We wanted to tell you guys, we were even planning on doing so until Ecklie split us up. We thought if we came out to everyone that Ecklie would make things worse for us." Greg was now staring at the wall in front of him. "I don't want to lose him, Cath." His voice sounded so desperate and I understood how hard this could be for him.

I put my arms around him and felt him noticeably relax. "We'll find, Greg. We are doing everything we can and we will find him. We have to."

I guess we don't notice everything after all.

I never felt so relieved to see anyone in my entire life. Seeing Nick still alive in that box made me so happy yet pissed at the same time. I saw what had happened to him and I wish that that guy hadn't killed himself. He deserves to pay for what he did to Nick.

I saw Nick look around when he was on the ground and I could have sworn that he was searching for Greg. Nick even said his name when he was being loaded into the ambulance. I told Greg to go with Nick and that I would follow them, but Greg just shook his head and said that he would meet up with us at the hospital.

As soon as I got into the ambulance I grabbed Nick's hand, needing a reminder that he was still alive. I felt his hand shaking in mine so I gave it a gentle squeeze, careful not to hurt him. My gaze turned to Warrick and I saw how relieved he was. "Greg?" Nick managed to get out. It was so soft that we had to strain to hear him.

"Greg's coming. He's following us to the hospital. You'll see him soon," I tell Nick. The paramedics had told us to keep Nick calm since the amount of venom in his system was making his heart wonky and I knew that Greg was the only thing guaranteed to make him calm.

Everyone was in the hospital room. Co-workers, family, and friends. Everyone was worried about Nick. The only person I didn't see was Greg. Nick was finally awake and looking around the room, searching for Greg I assumed.

"Is everything ok, dear?" Nick's mother had asked him.

Nick just shook his head and didn't speak for a moment. "No, umm…have you guys seen Greg?"

I leave the room and search the waiting room. Sitting in a chair farthest away from Nick's room was Greg. I walk over to him and sit down beside him. "Hey Greg, how come your not in there with Nick?" I ask him as I watch him sip on his cup of coffee.

He shrugs his shoulders and stares at Nick's hospital door. "I don't how to act or what to say," Was all he said.

I put my arm around his shoulder. "Just be there for him, Greg. He needs you right now," I tell him in a soft voice.

"I don't know how," he whispered to me. "I have to be the strong one and I don't know how. He's always been the strong one."

I turn to Nick's room. Greg's right; Nick is strong, stronger than any of us. "Nick can't deal with this by himself. He needs you. You have to put your problems aside for now and get in there. You'll know what to do."

We sit in silence for a minute before Greg stands up. "You're right…I better get in there."

I noticed Nick smile slightly when he saw Greg walk into the room. Greg smiled back at him and walked across the room and sat down in the chair besides Nick's bed. Greg took Nick's hand in his and gently kissed his hand.

"Hey baby," Greg said and tears fell down his cheeks when Nick spoke.

"I knew you would save me. I never stopped believing you would come," Nick squeezed Greg's hand. Tears were shinning in Nick's eyes.

I smiled as Greg ran his free hand over Nick's face, careful not hurt him. "I had to save you, baby. I wasn't about to lose you. You mean too damn much to me."

I watched Nick's parents led his family out of the room, to give Nick and Greg their privacy. Grissom and Sara walked out, both confused and happy about their co-worker's relationship. I placed my hand on Warrick's arm. "Come on. Let's give them some space." We walked out together.

When I turned to close the door I saw noticed Greg whisper 'I love you, Nicky,' and Nick whispering 'I love you, too G.' they then kissed. I was so happy that they found each other and I was happy that this monster didn't ruin what they have.

You know what I noticed?

Nick went through hell in that box but as long as he had Greg then he could get through anything.


End file.
